The Book of Haggai

The book of Haggai...usually a book quickly read over(If read at all). It's 2 very small chapters, and it's just so easy to skip over. It's about the Israelites around the time they were allowed to return to their homeland, the promise land...Israel.

Now, the Israelites were there for eighteen years, and through those years they were having some hard economic times.The book of Haggai says the reason for that, was because the Israelites were putting themselves first, before God. I don't know about you, but that sounds kind of familiar. You see God wanted his temple (his house ) to be built, and the israelites just kept putting it off.

"Oh, we will get to it...it's just not the right time right now, you know, uh..maybe later?"

They were more concerned about building their houses, and rebuilding the land to what it was, rather then putting God first. Things happened, like the bad economic times, not enough food, and what not, and that caused them to lose their focus on Gods will. Sounds like my kind of book, just remove the subject about "israelites" and put my name there instead. It's very easy to lose our focus, to lose sight of what is truly important, to put OUR will, above Gods. We all have stressful times, and we all have those bad days/months, where things just seem to never go our way, and we happen to focus a little to much on ourselves, and our situation, and not enough on what God wants in our lives. The United States, has lost their focus on what has made them what they are. I don't mean recently either, we as a country have been slowly losing our faith, and trust in God for decades now. It's just now we are at the point, where you wonder if anyone even remembers this is one nation under GOD, if anyone remembers how this country was built on Gods morals and laws. There are so many ways to relate to the book of Haggai in this day an age.

"Give careful thought to your ways.
You have planted much, but harvested little.
You eat, but never have enough.
You drink, but never have your fill.
You put on clothes, but are not warm.
You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it."-Haggai 1:6

eighteen years...they put off building the temple. God said the reason they didn't have enough food, the reason they were struggling so much, was because they didn't look to him. They didn't seek to do what God wanted, they knew what he wanted, but had excuse after excuse of why they didn't do it.

Sometimes God may use the "bad times" to wake you up, maybe you were not focusing on him in the first place, and he figures..

"Hmmm, maybe if I cause this to happen, they will talk to me again, maybe they will remember me...if I let this or that happen"

Or maybe you never lose sight of God, and yet trouble comes anyways. Do you think it's wrong? it's not justified? no harm should ever come to a Christian, that once you become one, that life is just peachy keen? I would suggest you read the book of Job then.

The moral, plain and simple, lets not lose focus on what God wants us to do. lets pray and seek his wisdom, lets make sure we are putting him first and not ourselves, in whatever we are doing. To remember that there will be struggles, there will be mountains to climb, and just because we "Believe" doesn't mean we deserve some kind of reward.
I found this, while reading the foot notes:

"God promises his presence to a people who obey and reverence Him.
His presence assures our needs will be met. It does not assure financial success."

Amen..

The book of Habakukk

The book of Habakkuk is about struggle and the questioning of God.
Habakkuk was a prophet living in the time where Israel was being punished.
Most likely he was living around the same time as Jeremiah the prophet.
how did God punish Israel? well, he used the Babylonians to destroy and oppress the israelites. This is where the questioning of God comes in. You see, Habakkuk wasn't questioning the punishment of Israel, not at all. What Habakkuk was questioning is... why would God allow the Israelites to suffer, the "righteous" to be brought down so low, and yet bless the wicked (the Babylonians). In sort why use an enemy of God to punish Gods chosen people?

How long, O Lord, must I call for help,
but you do not listen?
Or cry out to you, "VIOLENCE!"
but you do not save?
Why do you make me look at injustice?
Why do you tolerate wrong?
Destruction and violence are before me;
there is strife, and conflict abounds.
Therefore the law is paralyzed,
and justice never prevails.
The wicked hem in the righteous,
so that justice is perverted.

Lets take "Therefore the law is paralyzed" and dwell on that for a moment.
We must put ourselves in his shoes. As I said technically the Babylonians were far worse then the Israelites, they were not God fearing whatsoever, they were immoral. Worshipers of idols, and destroyer of many nations, and innocent people (not just Israel) So Habakukk figured he had a case against God. You see the Babylonians were gaining power, they were the dominate force, and if you were to look at them with all their riches, and battles they have won against other countries, you would think they were blessed by God. Habakukk was questioning God for that

"Lord how can you bless the enemy, someone so immoral and unjust, someone who has no consideration for your laws, and oppress us? your chosen people?"

Sure we can look back at the Israelites and say... you deserved your punishment, but if they deserved it, the Babylonians deserved even more, yet they seemed to be blessed by God. So we can see where Habakukk was coming from. We could easily have plenty of those arguments today couldn't we? I mean if we are followers of God, if we are righteous, shouldn't we all be blessed with riches? shouldn't we all be well off? Why does it seem like there is so many "undeserving" people out there, who are better off? why does it seem like sometimes the sinner is blessed and we are punished? That was what Habakukk didn't understand.

So what did God tell Habakukk? basically he said..

"Well, uh..buddy..this is just the beginning, because I am going to use those same Babylonians, and they are going to rule over everyone. they are going to be a mighty nation."

wait...what? it's going to get even worse? what kind of justice is that? that's what I would have been thinking. Habakukk was no fool, after God said that he said..

"O Lord, you have appointed them to execute judgment. O rock, you have ordained them to punish"

So he knew why God was doing it, however he still couldn't understand why he chose to use the Babylonians, as he continued on he said:

"Why are you silent while the wicked swallow up those more righteous then themselves"

We must also establish the fact...that even though Habakukk was questioning God, he wasn't questioning his faith. There is nothing wrong with questioning God, asking why this or that is happening doesn't make you a doubter or a fool. You are seeking gods will, and you are seeking his answer....nothing wrong with that. The Lord replied back to Habakukk and said

"the righteous will live by faith"

we must remember to live by faith, to have faith that everything happens for a reason, even if we cannot understand the logic or reasoning behind it. God also told Habakukk that Babylon would get what they truly deserved. God would treat Babylon as they treated everybody else. However it would be on his time frame.
Habakkuk new God could rescue them, he stood up and told God how he remembered the time of his for fathers, and how God rescued them from egypt. How he parted waters, how he created the earth. In the end Habakukk said:

"I will wait patiently for the calamity to come upon the nation invading us. even though I am hungry and poor, even though I am brought down to nothing, I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my savior."

All the struggles he was going through, the hard times, and the enemy coming down upon him mocking his God. Yet he is going to stand there and take it, and he is going to wait for Gods justice, because it will come. We can only pray and hope to have the strength and faithfulness that Habakukk had in those days. It rings so true now...with all that is going on in this world, with the struggles we are only just beginning to face with these hard economic times. We are only at the start of worry and trouble..However we as followers of Gods laws, and being washed of our sins by Jesus Christ, should fear nothing. We are always one step closer to the glorious day for all of us, and that is the return of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ..

Daniel Chapter 3..

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego... is yet another perfect example in the bible of what a "Christian" should be. As I'm sure most of you know, the story of Shadrach Meshach and Abednego can be found in Daniel chapter 3.

In short, King Nebuchadnezzar has a golden statue built, and he commands everyone to bow down, and worship it. However, Shadrach,Meshach and Abednego refuse to turn against God, and worship an Idol. So King Neb says "Hey if you don't worship the statue... I'm going to throw you all into a burning furnace, then what god will be able to rescue you?" what do Shadrach Meshach and Abednego do? they say "You go right ahead, and you throw us into the fire, because we know our God will save us, and even if he chooses not to, we still would never choose to bow down and worship your Idol." wow..that takes some serious faith right there. It's easy for me to sit here and be like " Oh, I would so totally do that too" however, I'm humble enough to say...I can only hope, and pray that I have that much faith when the time comes. Just think how many "Christians" are to scared now a days to even talk about their faith out loud, how many so called "Christians" would rather walk the line, and tip toe around with their faith as not to offend anyone.

Shadrach,Meshach and Abednego are the examples we should be following. They had true faith, and were willing to die for it. They were not the type of people to pray to God one day, and then the next, put him on the shelf. They didn't need to be shown a miracle before they would believe, they didn't pray "Oh Lord, save us from this fire" they just said "You know what God, I know your real, and if you want to save us from this fire, then great, and if not, thats cool too" were they saved from the fire? Yes, but do you think it was for their sake? or do you think it was to show King Nebuchadnezzar who the true God was?

There are places in this world, where people who try to worship Jesus Christ are persecuted and killed. Those same people are willing to die for Christ, just as he died for them. Just think, how they're looking over here at us in America, and what do you think, they are thinking? We have the freedom to worship our God, and yet we sometimes are to scared to do it in public? why? because we would be ridiculed? because people may look at us differently? and people wonder why we are considered hypocrites. We act like we deserve Gods mercy and forgiveness, and we act like we are persecuted in this country, but we are far from it. Why should we receive any mercy or forgiveness.... if we won't even stand up for our God? We shouldn't, but the fact of the matter is we do, because God loves us.

Even when we slap him in the face by sinning against him...He loves us

Even when we don't stand up for his name...He loves us

God is: Forgiveness,Love,Mercy and Peace..

we are to be sacrificial lambs, we are to forgive, even when we are not expected to.

Don't be shocked if a time comes where you are going to have to really make a choice in this country.

Don't lose sight of the hope that is in Jesus Christ.

Would you die for what you believe?

are you willing to sacrifice everything for your beliefs? for your Lord and savior?

we will be tested my friends. Lets remember Peter, a man who with his own eyes saw Christ's miracles, with his own hands touched Jesus, walked with Jesus. Remember how this man, a person who we would be lucky in todays world to be even half the man he was. a person who was given the gifts of the holy spirit. How he himself denied Christ, not once, not twice...but three times. 

he said "I will never leave your side Jesus! even if that means death!"

but when the time came, he feared for his own well being, and he denied even knowing Jesus at all. We as "Christians" in todays world have a lot of work to do...a lot of studying, and prayer we need to be doing. For temptation surrounds us more then ever before, and the time is coming.. where we will either stand up for Christ, and be persecuted for it, or we will stand silent and we will be against Christ. You are either with him or you are against him, there is no middle.

The Story of Jonah

So, I assume most people have heard the story of Jonah..in the bible. You know, the guy that got eaten by a giant fish. As with most stories in the bible, it's about so much more then the miracle itself. While people try to determine just what kind of "fish" could actually swallow a human being, they're missing the whole point of the story. So, let me first tell the story. (i'm going to go through it kinda quick, I mean you can seriously read it for yourself it's 4 short chapters)

Now Jonah was a prophet of God. One day God told him, "Hey I want you to go to Nineveh(a major enemy city of Israel) and I want you to tell them about me".
Now put yourself in Jonah's shoes for a moment, that would be like God saying to you today. "Hey so an so, I want you to go to China( where you can be killed for even owning a bible) and I want you to tell them about me" Just keep that in mind.

Anyways Jonah was like "um...I so totally don't want to do that" and he tried to run from God. He took off, and he got on a boat with some pagan sailors to go in the completely opposite way God wanted him to go. So God causes some high winds to come, and giant waves are bashing the boat. Meanwhile the pagans are flipping out, and they are calling to their different Gods for help/forgivness. During this time Jonah is just chilling in the Cabin sleeping in a deep sleep, so the Captain of the ship runs in and wakes Jonah up. "How can you be sleeping during this?! pray to your God, and maybe he will save us!" he said to Jonah. Then they started to cast lots, to figure out who's "God" was doing this. It of course falls on Jonah, and they all ask him "what did you do to cause this to happen! and how can we please your God to make this stop?" Jonah says "Listen, I know it's all my fault, so just throw me off this ship, and everything will calm down."

Now these pagans are afraid to throw Jonah over board, so they don't. However, the winds just get faster, and harder. So the pagans pray to God and say "Lord, please forgive us for doing this. Don't hold us accountable for this" and they throw Jonah over board, and once they do the winds die down and the waves calm down. So of course the Pagans praise the Lord and truly see just who is God. Now Jonah at this point gets swallowed by a huge fish and is inside it's belly for three days and three nights.

This of course is where people are like.."Hey, wait a minute! a huge fish? and he survived in it's belly? wow what kind of fish could do that I wonder" that's not the point! one moral of the story is this:

1. If God tells you to do something you do it!

2. We as "Christians" can not be afraid of telling people of Gods glory and forgiveness

I know there are a lot of times where as Christians we would rather be silent, rather then "offend" someone. Specially in this country where we are so "politicly correct" WAKE UP! we can't be afraid we might "offend" someone with what we believe. We are to spread the word of Christ! Even if we think the person we want to tell, is just going to blow us off or just bash us... for what we believe. I'm not at all saying, we should walk around and thump people with our bibles or be all "preachy". HOWEVER, if someone is standing there spreading hate, or taking the word of God out of context, we better stand up and correct them. Or if God is weighing on your heart to tell someone you know about Christ, we can't be afraid to speak up.

Now back to the story. So Jonah is in the fish, for three days and three nights, and he is praying to God. Why ? because he realizes he was wrong for not listening to God. So God says: "It's all good man" and he has the fish spit Jonah out onto dry land. Now God once again says "Jonah, I seriously want you to go to Nineveh, and tell them....that my wrath is coming against them." This time Jonah listens! probably doesn't want to be inside another fish or something, but he listens, and he goes.

So Jonah tells the people of Nineveh "Hey you guys got 40 days and then this place is going to be wiped off the map" and they all start freaking out, they get on there knees and pray to God for forgiveness. Even the king tears his robes off and sits in ashes, and he commands the people not to eat or drink, and just maybe God would spare them. Well God looked down, and he said "I'm not going to destroy you, and I forgive you" another moral maybe?

indeed, it's stating that even if you are a sinner, and you may technically deserve punishment. God is just waiting for your heart to change, He doesn't want to destroy you, he just wants you to love him, and turn from your ways.

Jonah however gets pissed off that God decides to spare them all. "Hey what the hell? these people are enemies of israel, they worshiped false Gods, and are horrible sinners, and just like that they are forgiven?! thats bull..just kill me now God" God then says "Do you really have the right to be angry??" and Jonah was like "umm..yes!"

Now again we must put ourselves in Jonah's shoes. We can see just why he didn't want to go to Nineveh in the first place. Because in his mind he was "screwed" either way. On the one hand, if he does go, and he preaches to them, they will turn from there evil ways, and be forgiven by God. When in his mind they should suffer, because they were an enemy of Israel(A bit hypocritical of him considering God forgave him). On the other hand he could go, and preach to them, and they all think he's nuts, and they just kill him because he's hebrew.

We obviously can see, that is not the way we should be. We should rejoice if God decided to have mercy on somebody who maybe, in our judgmental eyes, doesn't deserve mercy. We shouldn't judge, is another moral of the story, God will have mercy on whom he wants to have mercy. We should be praying that God has mercy on us for all the wrong we have ever, and will ever do....rather then looking at what others do.

AGAIN back to the story. So Jonah who is not a very happy camper, goes and sits out side of the city, just hoping something happens. While Jonah is sitting outside the city,it's hot, it's humid, and God decides to have a tree grow up behind Jonah and provide him shade. Jonah was like "sweet God thanks!" however during the morning hours God kills the tree providing him shade, and now it starts getting really hot, even worse then before, and Jonah was like "Hey God what gives? why did you kill my tree! that was giving me shade! now I just want to die!" and God said "Do you really have the right to be angry? did you plant the tree? did you create it? put any work into at all?"

God was using the tree as an example of the city, to Jonah. The moral is...
God created the people, God can do whatever he wants with them, we can't look up to the creator, and demand that this happens or that.

See, much more to the story of Jonah, then a fish...right?